


Not Like This

by WordsandWonder



Series: Any Way We Want It [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Minor Franky/Nico Robin, Minor Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, My First Fanfic, Past Ace/Sanji, Probably ooc, Sanji and Zoro being awkward, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-18 10:44:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8159309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsandWonder/pseuds/WordsandWonder
Summary: The club was so loud he couldn’t hear himself think, but at least the music was good. He did like to dance … with the right partner.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first time trying to write a fanfic and I'm super nervous, but here goes. Please excuse any grammatical errors as this is unbetaed. Or point them out to me in the comments so I can fix them! I welcome and take to heart all constructive criticism. Hope you enjoy the story!

Sanji looked around the club dispassionately. If anyone but his beautiful Nami-swan had asked him to come out tonight he would have flatly refused. Work had been brutal that day and he wanted nothing more than to sink into his massive Jacuzzi bathtub and let his stress float away on the bubbles. But Nami had been insistent, and how could he possibly say no to his goddess? The club was so loud he couldn’t hear himself think, but at least the music was good. He did like to dance … with the right partner. He glanced at a certain green-haired swordsman as he considered that, but was quickly distracted by the appearance of his two favorite ladies.

“Nami-swaaan! Robin-chwaaan!” Sanji was at their side in an instant, gushing over the women in his usual over-the-top fashion. 

“Hello Sanji,” Nami replied with a huge smile.

Robin nodded her head at him with her trademark small smile. “Sanji.”

“I’m so glad you came out tonight!” the redhead gushed. “And look, I even got Zoooooooro to join us,” she teased, knowing about the cook’s crush.

“This was a wonderful idea, Nami-swan,” Sanji said, pointedly ignoring her comment about Zoro as he scanned the crowd.

He spotted Luffy, Franky, Usopp, and Ace sitting at a table in the corner and pointed them out to Robin. Robin’s face lit up at the sight of her blue-haired husband like she was seeing him for the first time, even though they had been together since well before Sanji even met them, and excused herself to go join them.

“Here.”

A glass of some colorful drink was unceremoniously shoved into Sanji’s hands and he took it gladly from the swordsman, who shifted awkwardly when their fingers touched.

“Thanks. What is it?”

Zoro grunted and looked at his feet before muttering something Sanji couldn’t make out.

“What? This music is so loud, I can’t hear over it. You have to speak up, Marimo.”

“I dunno swirly! I just told the guy to give me something fruity. You’re the one who likes that girly shit.”

He glared at the man but took an experimental sip. It was surprisingly good. “Not bad, moss for brains. Wanna try some?”

He shook his head, still flushed. “I don’t want your damn germs.”

The blonde rolled his eyes as the other man ruined the out-of-character sweet gesture with his usual gruff demeanor. “Let’s just go sit down, then. I’ll lead. Wouldn’t want you getting lost in the twenty steps it takes to get to the table.”

Zoro frowned but followed the blonde to the full table. Ace smiled hugely at Sanji when he saw the two approaching and gestured to his lap, inviting the blonde to sit. Since there were no available chairs, Sanji took the offered seat, noticing with some satisfaction that Zoro’s expression darkened before he quickly looked away and dragged a stool over to the table for himself.

Robin sat on Franky’s lap and listened with an air of amusement as Usopp and Luffy argued about something. Sanji wasn’t really interested. He draped an arm over Ace’s shoulders and settled comfortably against his chest.

“Any progress?” the freckled man whispered softly, glancing between the chef on his lap and the scowling man next to them.

“Nope,” Sanji answered before taking another sip of the drink the object of his desire had bought for him. Ace, being his oldest and probably best friend, was the only one besides Nami who knew about his interest in Zoro. At first Sanji had avoided divulging such things to his former lover, but Ace was quite possibly the only one in the world he simply couldn’t keep secrets from, and Ace had noticed the all but imperceptible change in the cook’s attitude toward the swordsman.

“He’s crazy. Anyone would be lucky to be with you.”

Sanji rolled his eyes and didn’t dignify that with a response. He didn’t want anything serious with the man. At least, he didn’t think he did. No, he just really, really wanted to let the moss head pin him against a wall and ... 

“SANJI!!” Luffy’s loud voice broke through Sanji’s fantasizing and brought him back to his current situation. “There you are! I thought for sure Nami wouldn’t be able to convince you to come.”

“Anything for my Nami-Swaaaan,” Sanji replied with a laugh. Somehow just talking to the exuberant young man always made him smile.

“Oooohhhhh, well, I’m glad we sent her to ask, then!”

He was about to answer when Nami appeared in front of him once again. “Sanji! Come dance!”

Sanji drained his drink and nodded, because how could he deny such a request? He stood from Ace’s lap and extended a hand to the redhead. The song was upbeat and they danced together easily, laughing and enjoying the music.

When the song was over he returned to the table, happy and a little out of breath. Taking a chance, he extended a hand toward the swordsman. “Zoro, dance with me,” he said with a rare, genuine smile. The kind few but Luffy could get out of him.

The man ran a large hand through his short, spikey green hair as his face flushed an adorable pink. “I don’t dance,” he grunted.

The smile slipped off Sanji’s face, but he shrugged nonchalantly and moved the extended hand to the man next to his first target. “Ace?”

“With pleasure, my dear,” the raven haired man purred.

“Hey –“ Zoro started to protest, but the couple had already joined the crowd of swaying people on the dance floor.

The song changed, speeding up and taking on a pulsing beat, far less innocent than the previous song. Sanji pulled his former lover close and began to slide his body against Ace’s in time with the music. Ace’s hands ghosted along his arms, down his sides to his hips and thighs. Their bodies molded to each other perfectly as they swayed. They had always had incredible chemistry, and never had a problem falling in sync with one another. Things had ended amicably between them and they had settled into a very close friendship over the past few years, but that didn’t mean Ace didn’t still find Sanji intoxicating. If the blonde gave him an opening, he would gladly rekindle their previous romance.

One of Sanji’s hands slid into the unruly black hair of his partner, gripping and pulling ever so slightly, causing him to groan, their faces only a breath away from touching.

“God Sanji, what are you trying to do to me?” he asked, his voice barely audible over the pounding music.

Though his romantic feelings for Ace had long since faded, the puff of warm breath against his ear sent a not-so-platonic shiver down his spine. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” he admitted in a low voice, sending a similar shiver through his partner.

Ace didn’t have time to respond, however, because without warning Sanji was yanked backwards by an arm around his waist. He gave a short yelp of surprise (that he would never admit to), but stopped the kick he was preparing to send at his assailant when he was whirled around and found himself face to face with Zoro.

“Fine,” the swordsman grunted, placing his hands unsurely on Sanji’s hips and pulling him close. “But it’s your fault if I step on your feet.”

The cook found himself smirking at the blush spreading from Zoro’s face to his neck and ears. He wondered how far that blush could extend. “About time,” he murmured, gently gliding a hand up his chest and almost lazily curling his fingers around the strong neck.

This was the closest he had ever been to the moss head, and he wanted to make it count. He pressed himself closer, guiding one of Zoro’s calloused hands to the small of his back as he rocked in time with the music, grinding his hips as close to him as he could. The man groaned low at the friction, then blushed even deeper at the sound. Sanji smoothly turned himself around so his back was pressed against the marimo’s muscled chest and lifted his arm up, running his fingers into soft green hair and gripping, holding him close. In an uncharacteristically daring move, Zoro leaned down and pressed his lips to the spot where Sanji’s neck met his shoulder. The blonde gasped at the contact. He was definitely not expecting that! But he also definitely wasn’t complaining.

The song changed again, but the tempo and beat were similar, so Sanji and Zoro barely had to adjust their pace. One of the swordsman’s hands gripped Sanji’s hip tightly as the other skimmed around his waist and settled on his firm stomach. He entwined the fingers of his free hand with his, holding him there, that warm hand so close, and yet unbearably far from where he wanted it. He knew his skin was beginning to flush, and he longed for more.

“God, Sanji…” Zoro hummed into his ear. If he thought Ace’s voice in his ear had sent a shiver down his spine, it was nothing compared to the feeling that jolted through him at his breath and the rare use of his name.

He turned his head quickly, unexpectedly, so his mouth was right next to his partner’s. “Hmmm?” he whispered back seductively. That and his nearness had the desired effect, and again the swordsman flushed. He looked at the chef with those piercing emerald eyes and Sanji nearly melted at what he saw there. However, his feeling of lust was quickly overcome by surprise when he was rather roughly pushed away as the song changed again.

“Not here,” Zoro growled, more to himself than the blonde. “Not like this.”

Next thing Sanji knew, the man was stalking out of the club, fists clenched and back tense, shaking his head and leaving the cook confused and frustrated in the middle of the dance floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If that stupid Marimo bastard thought that was the end of this, he was sorely mistaken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks to everyone who left Kudos and comments! I decided I wasn't done with this fic, so here's another chapter! Again, it's unbetaed, so I apologize. Hopefully I'll have a second pair of eyes to look over the next chapter.

“Sanji, what happened? I thought you had him for sure!” Ace plucked at the blonde’s sleeve, trying to divert his attention from the door he was still staring at in bewilderment.

Sanji shook his head and his stare turned into a glare. “I have no fucking clue,” he snapped. “But I’m about to find out.”

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but Sanji didn’t hear. He was already wrenching the door to the club open and storming after that green haired bastard.

It was drizzling slightly when the chef stepped out into the parking lot. The door shutting behind him cut off the pounding beat of the music and the excited shouting of the club-goers, leaving nothing more than a slight ringing in Sanji’s ears to punctuate the quiet night. He scanned the rows of cars with narrowed eyes, looking for that tell-tale splotch of vibrant green.

“Zoro!” he called angrily, hoping the man hadn’t by some miracle actually found his car on the first try and left already.

“Cook? What’re you doing?” Zoro stood just out of the halo of light from the club’s neon sign in the alley between the club and the currently closed bakery next door, looking confused.

“What am _I_ doing?!” the blonde yelled, stomping over to that stupid algae with murderous intent. “What are _you_ doing, Marimo?”

It was hard to tell in the semi-dark of the alley, but Sanji thought he saw the swordsman flush.

“Lookin’ for my car. I think someone moved it again.”

“And you thought you’d find it in the alley?” Sanji began, falling easily into his usual teasing before remembering that he was _pissed_. “Wait, no! That’s not what I meant! I meant what was up with just ditching me like that?”

The swordsman had the decency to look supremely uncomfortable.

“Look, cook, I …”

“You what moss brain? You thought it’d be funny to just get my hopes up and then leave?” A small part of Sanji’s brain was telling him to calm down, but the much bigger, much angrier part of his brain wasn’t having it. He’d been chasing Zoro for too damn long and he’d been too damn close for the shitty bastard to just blow him off like that!

“I wasn’t trying to be funny!” Zoro protested, looking surprised, of all things.

The stupid look on his face made Sanji even angrier and before he knew it he was aiming a kick at the man’s head.

Zoro dodged, just barely, and scowled at the blonde. “The fuck, swirly?! Why are you being so pissy all of a sudden?”

Sanji directed his next kick at Zoro’s side. “ _I’m_ being pissy? You’re the one who just _left me in there_! I’m tired of dancing around this with you, shitty swordsman!”

“What? You asked _me_ to dance, ero-cook!”

Sanji stopped his assault to blink at the idiot before him in astonishment. “Are … are you fucking kidding me right now? That’s not … I didn’t mean that dancing, you moron _._ ”

“Well why don’t you stop attacking me and tell me what the fuck you _do_ mean, then?” the marimo growled.

“What I mean? Damnit, Zoro, do you really not know by now? I’m pretty sure I can’t be any more fucking obvious.” The blonde slumped against the alley wall and lit a cigarette, savoring that first soothing hit of nicotine, hoping it would calm his nerves a little.

“That shit’ll kill you.”

The glare Sanji sent Zoro’s way was so intense it was a wonder the green-haired man didn’t burst into flames.

“Really? That’s all you have to say?”

Zoro shuffled awkwardly before leaning against the wall next to Sanji, so close their shoulders pressed together.

“Nah, there’s more. Just … don’t know how to say it.”

“How about you try.”

The hope that had soared in Sanji’s chest when the moss head spoke slowly died in the long pause that followed. He refused to be the one to break the silence, though. It was pretty much all laid out there now, and the ball was in Zoro’s court. Well, maybe it was all laid out there. Sanji flushed as he realized that he might not have actually been clear enough to make the swordsman understand. Oh shit, he’d just come out of the club kicking and yelling, hadn’t he? Yeah, he’d thought his flirting was obvious enough, and he’d thought the whole grinding for all he was worth with the green haired man would be a decent indication of his feelings, but this was _Zoro_. And Zoro was _clueless_. Shit. Sanji took a deep breath, preparing to actually explain himself, and …

“I left cuz … cuz I didn’t wanna kiss you like that, shit cook.”

Sanji’s heart plummeted into his stomach as he stared at the man beside him, who was scowling rather fiercely at his feet. He swallowed around the huge lump that had suddenly formed in his throat with difficulty.

“So … you don’t … wanna kiss me,” he managed to whisper.

Zoro’s head whipped up so fast Sanji worried he might’ve given himself whiplash. “What? No! I mean yes! I mean … fuck.”

Staring straight ahead now, Sanji tried to school his expression into some semblance of nonchalance and took another hit off his cigarette. “Take your time, moss head.”

Zoro ran his hand roughly through his hair with a frustrated sigh. “Look, I … shit, this is so stupid. Look you shitty dartboard brow, I don’t know why, but I like your perverted ass and I wanna … I dunno, kiss you and stuff, but not like th … not when …”

“Not when…?”

“Not when I’m just doing it cuz I’m jealous!”

The chef leaned his head back against the brick as he exhaled a stream of smoke. “You don’t want to kiss me when you’re jealous.”

“Yeah.”

“And you were jealous because …?”

“You were all over that stupid freckle-faced …”

“I asked you to dance before I asked Ace, you know,” Sanji reminded, rolling his head to the side to look at the flustered swordsman.

“I know that, but I didn’t think you’d…!”

“I see.”

In one smooth movement, Sanji pushed off the wall, stomped out his cigarette butt, pivoted, and pressed Zoro against the building, one hand by the man’s head and the other trailing along his bicep.

“Are you jealous now?” he asked lowly, his face barely an inch away from Zoro’s.

“N … no …”

“Well then.”

Sanji was about to close the gap between their lips, but Zoro beat him to it, wrapping a hand around the back of the blonde’s neck and pulling him into a long-overdue kiss.

It was soft at first, like Zoro was still unsure if it would be okay with the cook. So, in order to reassure the man, Sanji stepped in closer, placed one hand on Zoro’s hip, twisted the other into his green locks, and tilted his head so he could deepen the kiss with a satisfied hum.

 _Well damn, he’s actually pretty good at this,_ Sanji thought dizzily as Zoro licked along his lower lip and ran a hand up Sanji’s chest.

 Sanji moaned softly and opened his mouth, inviting Zoro’s tongue inside to slide against his own. He tasted like the beer from earlier, but also a little like … cinnamon, maybe? Whatever it was, it was entirely Zoro and Sanji wanted more.

“Fuck cook, I’ve wanted to do that for fucking ever,” the swordsman whispered when they broke apart for air, resting his forehead against the blonde’s.

“Yeah?” Sanji murmured, leaning in to press a kiss to the swordsman’s neck, licking at the salty skin and thoroughly enjoying the gasp he received for his efforts. “You aren’t the only one.”

It was taking a massive amount of control for Zoro to suppress the pleasured shiver caused by the cook’s ministrations at his neck. That control completely snapped when he felt the distinct graze of teeth on his pulse point and he jerked. “Sanji! Fuck, don’t … don’t do that,” he managed to stammer.

The cook pulled away just long enough to give him a smirk before immediately returning to his neck, much more aggressively this time. Zoro’s hand came up and tangled in sweaty golden locks, and he honestly wasn’t sure if he was trying to pull Sanji away or keep him _right fucking there_. When the man’s hand started playing with the waistband of his jeans, though, he made up his mind and tugged insistently until Sanji gave a final lick to the now bruising spot on Zoro’s neck and looked up at him with lust-blown eyes.

“I want you,” Sanji rumbled, taking immense pleasure in watching Zoro gasp and his pupils dilate.

He took significantly less pleasure in being forcefully held in an iron grip an arm’s length from the marimo. “Damnit, cook, not here! Not like this!”

Sanji growled low in his throat at the familiar words, but his protest was abruptly cut off when the swordsman picked him up, slung him over his shoulder, and began walking with determination, pulling his keys from his pocket.

“Zoro, wait!” Sanji yelled, barely containing a laugh. “Your car is that way!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally heating up, and as far as Sanji is concerned it is about. Fucking. Time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! If anyone has been waiting for/hoping for an update, I apologize for the delay. If no one was, well, here's one anyway! This is the first time I've attempted to write anything even remotely smutty, so I hope it's okay. Still not beta'd.
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE  
> The author does not condone or in any way encourage engaging in ANY kind of distracting activity while driving.

With surprisingly little redirection on Sanji’s part, they made it to the swordsman’s car and Zoro let him slide off his shoulder, enjoying the brush of the cook’s chest against his, until Sanji was able to touch down.

“Let me drive, Marimo, or we’ll never make it there.” Sanji’s voice was far breathier than he would have liked, but with his back pressed against the driver’s side door and almost every inch of his front pressed against the moss head, he really didn’t think he could be blamed for being a bit out of breath.

“I know how to get to my own apartment, shit-cook.”

Sanji decided to ignore the insult in favor of sliding his hands up the other man’s chest and cocking his head to the side.

“We’re not going to your apartment, though,” he murmured, curling one hand around Zoro’s muscled neck and letting the other slip lazily down his arm until it reached the hand in which Zoro held his keys.

“Why not?” Though the scowl was still in place, Zoro’s voice caught a little on his question, betraying just how much he was affected by the cook’s touch.

“Well, first of all, mine’s closer,” Sanji reasoned softly, bringing his lips close to Zoro’s ear and letting the other feel the warm breath on his neck. 

“And your place smells like gym socks,” he added quickly, snatching the keys and moving away from the other man in one smooth movement. He dangled them in front of him, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement as he eyed the swordsman, waiting for a reaction.

Zoro looked like he wanted to argue for a moment, but seemed to think better of it. He couldn’t really deny what the cook said. His apartment was closer, and Zoro’s was a little, well … stale, at the moment. So he simply shrugged, moved to the passenger side of the car, and raised one eyebrow as he waited for Sanji to unlock the door. 

The blonde smirked in triumph. “Boy, you’re compliant when you’re horny, huh? Good to know,” he teased.

Zoro’s return grin was almost feral and the glint in his eye promised danger, but the kind Sanji was very sure he would thoroughly enjoy.

“Keep talking, curly. We’ll see who’s the compliant one soon enough.”

Sanji’s schooled his expression into one of challenge, but inside he knew perfectly well that he would happily be as cooperative or uncooperative as Zoro wanted. He’d definitely waited too long for this to ruin the moment by getting into a fight over who was in charge. Control was not something Sanji gave up easily, but he loved the thrill it gave him when he did. Simply being around the right kind of person could make him crave that sensation, and fuck if Zoro wasn’t the right kind of person. Sanji would put up a fight, of course, that was just his nature. But in this case he was more than a little excited to lose.

The car purred to life and Sanji took a moment to appreciate the care Zoro put into maintaining the thing. It was an old car, definitely not much to look at, but to hear it run you would think it was brand new. Sanji wiggled into a comfortable position in the driver’s seat and adjusted the mirrors before shifting into drive and pulling out of the parking space. He wasn’t really paying attention to what Zoro was doing until he felt the man’s teeth graze the shell of his ear.

“What the fuck, Marimo! Put your seatbelt on!”

Zoro responded not by following Sanji’s directions, but by trailing his fingers along the waistband of the chef’s jeans. Sanji grit his teeth as his ab muscles fluttered at the feeling and his dick jerked in his increasingly tight pants. 

“Stop that, you idiot, I’m trying to drive here.”

“So drive,” the infuriating swordsman rumbled before biting at the spot just under Sanji’s ear that made the blonde moan and throw his head back into the headrest.

“Eye’s on the road, blondie,” Zoro hummed against Sanji’s neck as he toyed with the chef’s zipper.

Sanji stared straight ahead and tried to calm his body down until the only evidence of the swordsman’s effect on him was his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

“Are you trying to get us killed, stupid? How am I supposed to drive when you’re- fuck!”

Sanji could feel Zoro’s smug smirk against his neck, but he really couldn’t spare any attention to it at the moment. Not with Zoro’s warm, calloused hand slowly stroking his dick.

“We’re gonna- haah – we’re gonna crash you … you stupid – nngh!”

“If you have that little faith in your driving ability I’ll stop. Not sure this,” Zoro gave him a gentle squeeze, “would like that, though.”

Sanji wanted to retort that it wasn’t a reflection on his driving ability at all, but he was distracted by the fact that Zoro was now taking his dick from his jeans and lowering his head.

Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck is he really …

Sanji’s unspoken question was answered as the moss head closed his lips around Sanji’s throbbing arousal. 

“Oh fuck you!” he cried, torn between tossing his head back again and watching as Zoro took more and more of his cock into that hot, wet mouth.   
A horn honking caused Sanji to snap his focus back to the road. He was swerving all over the place, he realized. Shit. He glanced around quickly for cops and thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t see any. Should he pull over? Fuck, he should pull over. This was a terrible, horrible, wonderful oh shit fuck amazing idea. 

“Oh you fucking bastard,” Sanji growled, keeping his eyes straight ahead with a colossal effort of will. 

“Too much, ero-cook? Should I stop?”

Smug bastard. Sanji’s rational brain, the one that cared about things like legal driving practices and general road safety and not dying, was easily overpowered by his horny brain. So instead of saying yes like a sane person who didn’t want their night to end in a fiery crash, he growled low and thrust his hips up, searching for more of the delicious heat from before. 

“Don’t you fucking dare, you piece of shit. We’re almost there, so hurry up and finish what you started.”

A soft chuckle was all the warning Sanji got before Zoro took his whole cock into his mouth in one go until Sanji could feel the delicate muscles of the man’s throat fluttering against the head. 

“ShitshitshitfuckshityoubastardFUCK,” Sanji cursed violently, hunching forward as Zoro set a quick pace, bobbing his head up and down and sending Sanji racing toward orgasm far more quickly than the blonde would like to admit. The swordsman was relentless, knowing just when to suck and when to use his tongue and all too soon Sanji felt his muscles tighten and shake. Sensing that his partner was close, Zoro hummed around the shaft and that was it. Sanji’s orgasm crashed into him in waves of pleasure as he spilled everything down Zoro’s throat. The man swallowed dutifully and milked every last drop from Sanji’s spent cock before lifting his head from the cook’s lap.

“So. Did we die?” he asked with a smirk that Sanji would have found obnoxious had he not still been floating on a cloud of post-orgasm bliss.

“Who the fuck cares?” he muttered. 

Zoro laughed and kissed Sanji lightly on the nose. The blonde honestly couldn’t remember when he had pulled into his apartment complex’s parking structure, much less put the car in park, but he allowed himself a moment to feel proud of his accomplishment. It wasn’t every man who could successfully navigate a parking garage with such intense … distractions.

“Cook? Hey, cook!”

Sanji shook his head and looked at the man next to him. “What?”

“Should we go inside? Don’t tell me you’re done.”

“Oh no, Marimo,” Sanji purred, grinning as he turned off the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. “We are just getting started.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is nothing ever easy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, everyone! I don't have a ton to say about this chapter, except that I bumped the rating up to explicit because of where things are heading. This is still un-beta'd. Please please please let me know if you like it or have any suggestions! 
> 
> Oh, and I apologize for my erratic updating, I basically just write when I have time between work and school. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Somehow the pair managed to make it up the three flights of stairs to Sanji’s apartment without ripping each other’s clothes off, but as soon as the door closed Sanji found himself pressed up against it with the marimo’s all-too talented tongue in his mouth. 

Sanji stopped Zoro’s hands just in time to save his expensive dress shirt from being ripped open and pulled away from the bruising kiss. “This shirt is expensive, dumb ass. You break it you buy it.”

Zoro was undeterred by Sanji’s sharp tone and simply moved to kissing the blonde’s neck. “You take it off, then. But hurry, cuz I’m not waiting much longer.”

Sanji’s cock twitched with renewed interest at the promise in that statement, and he was almost tempted to let Zoro just rip the thing off, but he somehow managed to bring his hands up and hastily unbuttoned the shirt. 

The second he got the last button undone Zoro was sliding the garment off Sanji’s shoulders and letting it fall haphazardly on the floor. In the spirit of naked fairness, Sanji reached for the marimo’s belt, but strong hands grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head against the door. 

“Fuck, Sanji, you’re so fucking hot,” Zoro rumbled in the other’s ear. “I can’t wait to be inside you.”

“Maybe we should head to the bedroom,” Sanji breathed, trying not to moan as Zoro rolled his hips, creating delicious friction between them.

“And what if I want to take you right here?”

God, that voice was pure sin, and Sanji couldn’t help but shudder in want. “Then maybe you should -ahhh- let me take your pants off.”

Zoro adjusted his hold so that both Sanji’s wrists were held above his head in one hand and let the other hand slide down Sanji’s arm tantalizingly slow. “Hmmm, but maybe I want to do all the work this time?” 

“Oh fuck you, Marimo, I thought you weren’t gonna wait?”

Sanji could feel Zoro smirk against his neck. “That was before I knew how sexy you look all hot and bothered and impatient for my cock.”

“You -hah!- You bastard. Just do so-something already!”

Zoro apparently took this demand to heart, because the next thing Sanji knew there was a sharp burst of pleasure-pain at the base of his neck and one of the moss’s hands made quick work of Sanji’s belt for the second time that night. Zoro lapped at the bite almost apologetically and kissed the spot gently before crushing his lips against Sanji’s. 

The chef moaned into the kiss and gladly accepted Zoro’s tongue once more, thrusting his hips in search of any kind of friction against his now fully hard cock. The swordsman, however, had different plans, because he immediately grabbed Sanji’s waist, stilling his movements. 

“Zoro, c’mon,” Sanji growled.

“Oh fuck, say it again.”

“Come on,” Sanji repeated with a smirk, intentionally leaving out what he knew Zoro wanted.

The marimo didn’t rise to the bait though. He just pulled away far enough to give Sanji a long, lustful once-over. “I guess it’s okay if you don’t want to say my name right now, curly. I’ll have you screaming it soon enough.”

“I’d like to see you try, moss brain,” Sanji challenged.

And then the world was spinning as he was yanked away from the door and laid out flat on his back in the foyer. Despite the rough treatment, Zoro made sure to cushion Sanji’s head with his hand as he pressed his body against the blonde’s on the floor.

“Zo-“ Sanji cut himself off midway through moaning the man’s name. No, he wasn’t going to make it that easy.

“Hmm, what was that, ero-cook? Something to say?”

“Shut up, bastard. Aren’t you supposed to be making me scream?”

Sanji shivered at the puff of warm breath over one nipple as the swordsman chuckled before closing his lips over the rapidly hardening nub. The chef decided to take this opportunity to tug on the other’s shirt, revealing what he knew to be gloriously firm and defined abs. He couldn’t really admire the view in his current position, but he greatly enjoyed the feeling of them twitching and flexing under his touch. 

A strong vibrating against his pelvis made him groan and arch into the man on top of him despite his surprise. 

“Wha-? What is-?” he asked, his brain foggy with lust.

“Shit, my phone. Sorry,” Zoro grumbled, shoving a hand in his pocket and then carelessly tossing the device aside. He glanced at Sanji’s flushed face and grinned. “Or maybe I should bring that back? Doesn’t look like you minded that much.”

“Sh-Shut up! Just fucking …”

“We’re getting to that, be patient.”

“You’re such -nngh- you’re such a bastard,” Sanji shot back without nearly the amount of heat he’d intended. 

“Uh huh. But you like it.”

Even with Zoro’s hand closing around his dick again, Sanji just about jumped out of his skin at the sound of the phone buzzing against the hardwood floor.

“Jesus fuck,” Zoro growled, reaching for the offending gadget. His irritated expression deepened as he glanced at the screen. “Fourteen missed calls? The fuck, Luffy?”

“Wait…” Sanji propped himself up on his elbows and looked at the swordsman, a terrible thought coming to him. “If he’s called fourteen times … and he can’t reach you …”

Zoro seemed to realize where Sanji was going and met Sanji’s cautious stare with a horrified one of his own. “Cook, where’s your phone?”

“It’s in my pa-“

“Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!”

“No. Fucking … no. Oh my god, he’s already here!” Sanji groaned, shoving the marimo off him and scrambling to his feet. “The fuck did my pants go? Did we lock the-“

“Saaaaaaaaaannnnnnji! I neeeeeeeeeeeeeed you! Are you home?!” Before either of them had a chance to answer Monkey D. Luffy burst through the regrettably unlocked door and into the suddenly overcrowded foyer. 

Luffy’s face went from distraught to confused to obnoxiously amused in record time as he took in the scene before him. Zoro, sprawled on the floor, face flushed and jeans very obviously tented in the front. Sanji, also sporting a rather prominent erection, blushing furiously with his pants clutched in one hand. 

“Shishishishi! So that’s where you two went! Nami said you did, but I didn’t believe her! That’s awesome! You guys are great together!”

“Gee, thanks Luffy,” Sanji hissed through clenched teeth, still hunched over and wishing he could melt into the floor. “Wanna tell us why you’re barging into my apartment?”

“Why are you guys doing this right in front of the door, anyway? Sanji’s bedroom is like ten feet away, and his bed is so comfy!”

“Luffy …”

“How do you know his bed is comfy, Luffy?” Zoro questioned dangerously from the floor, and Sanji recognized the tinge of jealousy in his voice.

The boy cocked his head to the side, obviously not understanding the reason for Zoro’s dark tone. “Cuz Sanji is a great cuddler? Obviously. Zoro is so dumb.”

Zoro ignored the insult and leveled an incredulous stare at the blonde. “Geeze, Cook, seriously? Luffy?”

“It wasn’t like that! You know how this idiot gets when he’s drunk! He crashed here after the Christmas party, remember? And he was supposed to stay on the couch but instead he crawled into my bed and wouldn’t leave and wrapped his stupid arms around me and he calls it cuddling!” Sanji explained in a rush. The last thing he wanted was for Zoro to think he’d slept with the exuberant man-child before them. “Luffy, if you’re done spewing nonsense that confuses people why don’t you tell us why the fuck you’re here?”

“Why’re you so cranky? You were getting laid! Sheesh. You guys don’t make any sense. Do you have any snacks?” Without waiting for an answer he bounded into Sanji’s kitchen singing “Food, food, Sanji’s foooooood!”

The cook looked at the swordsman on the floor and scrubbed his hand over his face in frustration. “If he’s going for the snacks we’re not getting rid of him any time soon,” he said regretfully. 

“Sanji, I need meat!” Luffy called from the fridge. 

“I don’t have any made right now, you shitty monkey! There’s some fish left over in there you can have.”

“This isn’t a fish situation, Sanji! I’m having a crisis here, I need meat!”

Zoro sighed heavily before resigning himself to the fact that the chef was now going to end up making a full meal, and the two of them were going to be having a long and probably confusing talk with Luffy. 

He offered his hand to Sanji, meeting his disappointed gaze with a helpless shrug. “Help me up, swirly. We better see what’s the matter with him.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Luffy has a crisis, EVERYONE has a crisis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Here's the latest installment of Not Like This. Sorry it took so long to get out. I couldn't get Luffy's reaction the way I wanted it, so I ended up writing the entire scene of the "crisis" as a separate piece. It helped, so here we are! Hope you like it!

Several plates of Sanji’s amazing teriyaki later the three men sat in uncomfortable silence around the kitchen table. Luffy had refused to talk about his “crisis” until after he’d been fed, and Sanji and Zoro were stuck in a weird did-we-really-just-almost-fuck-in-the-foyer? limbo. Swishing around the small amount of wine remaining in his glass, Sanji tried to covertly observe the marimo through the golden veil of his hair. Zoro still had a splash of pink on his cheeks that deepened along with his scowl every time he made eye contact with the chef. He was trying valiantly (and failing miserably) to look at ease in his seat as he took another long drink of his fourth beer. Sanji could plainly see the tension in the way the swordsman was holding himself; the way his grip on the bottle was too tight, the way his eyebrow jumped a bit every time Sanji spoke, and the way he made sure to scoot his chair as far from Sanji’s as the table allowed.

“Why are you guys being all weird? I’m the one having a crisis here, you know.”

Trust Luffy to call out the awkwardness even though he didn’t get that he was largely the reason for it.

“Okay, so talk about your damn crisis, then!” Sanji snapped, earning him a quick glare of reprimand from the moss head.

Even when Luffy was annoying the hell out of him and getting him in to all kinds of trouble and basically making Zoro’s life hell, the man was oddly protective of his friend. When Sanji had first met Luffy and Zoro he’d thought it was just a joke when the swordsman called the odd straw hat wearing boy “Captain,” but it soon became obvious that Zoro actually saw him that way. Of course, after spending just a few hours with Luffy Sanji had been able to understand how such a goofball could inspire that kind of loyalty. In fact, at this point everyone thought of Luffy as the captain of their small crew; and if Luffy was the captain, then Zoro was without a doubt the first mate. The two never talked much about their history, just enough for Sanji to know they’d been friends since they were kids, but he didn’t really need to know details to understand how deep their bond was.

“Sanji, are you even listening to me?” their “captain” whined. “You told me to talk and then you just stared at Zoro all mushy the whole time I was explaining!”

Sanji flushed at being caught staring “all mushy” at Zoro. He hadn’t realized he’d been gazing affectionately at the man as he pondered. “Sorry, Luffy. Go ahead with your story.”

“Okay, well as I was _saying_ , it all started after Zoro got all red and stormed off to get Ace off Sanji. Poor Ace…”

“Luffy,” Zoro warned.

“Sorry, sorry. Anyway, after Zoro got all mad at Ace even though Sanji asked him to dance and they’re just friends now …”

“ _Luffy_ , the crisis, please,” Sanji interjected upon seeing a vein throb in Zoro’s forehead.

“Right! The crisis. Well, I’d been dancing and dancing and I was already hungry when I got there, so I was getting tired and I went to sit down, but the whole crew was dancing so I was all alone. _But_ everyone left their drinks too, so I drank them and then I felt a little better. And I was just finishing Zoro’s beer when the bird-hat guy came over to the table and gave me some money and said I could keep it if I got his grumpy friend to dance! So of course I wanted to keep the money and told him to show me his friend, and that is how I ended up in a crisis.”

Zoro and Sanji waited a moment for Luffy to continue, but he just looked at them expectantly.

“Well?” the raven-haired boy demanded. “What should I do?”

Zoro looked at Sanji, and Sanji just blinked back at him as if to say ‘this is all you, Mr. First Mate.’

“Luffy … uh … we’re gonna need a little more information? What’s the crisis here? Some guy paid you to bug his friend who wasn’t being social. That doesn’t seem so bad…?”

“Yes it is so bad! It’s _terrible_! Zoro is so stupid. Sanji, heeeellllllllllp meeeeeeee! What am I gonna do about Torao?!”

“Torao?”Sanji repeated.

“Yes, Torao! Torao Torao Torao! Beautiful, perfect, amazing Torao! What do I doooooooo?” Luffy flung himself dramatically on the floor and tossed an arm over his eyes. “He’s the most gorgeous creature on the planet! And I spilled beer all over his fancy clothes and I stepped on his foot when I danced with him and then I pushed him away and he was insulted and then _I kissed him_!”

Oh. Now they were getting somewhere. Luffy had a crush.

“But… I mean, the spilling the drink and stepping on him isn’t so great, and the pushing him away probably isn’t either, but the kissing him is good, right?”

“No, Zoro, it is _not_ good because he didn’t know I was gonna kiss him so he moved and I accidentally smashed my teeth into his chin and he looked at me like I was a total freak because I _was_ a total freak and now he’ll never looooooooooveeeeeeeeeeeee meeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Ace had talked about Luffy having relationships before, but in all the time he’d know the boy, Sanji had never seen it. Luffy never flirted with anyone, never expressed interest in anyone, or even just joked around about anything sexual. When sex was brought up Luffy always seemed surprised, like he’d forgotten that was a thing, and Sanji was reeling a bit from the revelation that this crisis was because of a guy at the club.

“Okay, Luffy, calm down. I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Zoro said in his best attempt at a soothing voice.

“So you struck out,” Sanji interjected with a shrug. “It happens to the best of us, I don’t see what the big deal is?”

Zoro looked very much like he wanted to facepalm at that, and Luffy actually picked his head up off the floor to stare at Sanji in shock.

“ _Haven’t you been listening?!?!”_ the boy yelled. “It’s a big deal because it’s _TORAO_. And Torao is _special._ ”

“Luffy, neither of us know who the hell that is,” the blonde reasoned. “And _why’s_ he so special? Didn’t you just meet him tonight?”

“Stupid dart-board brow,” Zoror growled. “If Luffy says he’s special then he is. He said you were special ten seconds after he met you, too. Not this same kind of special, but still. He just knows this stuff. He wasn’t wrong with you, and he’s probably not wrong with this Torao.”

The sudden warmth in his chest at hearing that was probably just affection for the captain, for thinking he was special, and had nothing to do with Zoro. “Okay, you’re right, I’m sorry. So Luffy, you’re saying that some guys paid you to get their friend- Torao- to dance, and you did but then it went bad?”

“ _Yes_.”

“Well, did you get his number?” Zoro asked.

“Noooooo. I gave that bird-hat guy your number, though.”

Zoro frowned. “Luffy, what the fuck? Why are you giving out my number?”

“He asked for my number but my phone is broken so I gave him yours cuz I know you’ll tell me if he calls.”

“Yeah, but captain …”

“Why’d the bird-hat guy want your number?” Sanji asked, cutting Zoro off.

“Oh, I don’t know. It was loud and I was distracted. I think he said something about Torao having a good time, but it _wasn’t_ a good time because I _ruined_ it and it’s a _crisis_!”

Sanji and Zoro exchanged a look. Neither really knew what to do with this; Sanji because he’d never seen Luffy like this before, and Zoro because he was Zoro and just didn’t do very well overall with the comforting and bucking-up stuff.

“Uh … well … you could … sleep on it?” Zoro offered eventually.

“Sleep on it?”

“Yeah, you know. It’ll look better in the morning? When you’re not all tired and drunk and stuff?”

Sanji nodded thoughtfully. “That’s not actually a bad idea, Marimo. I think we’re all kind of worn out right now. We should talk about it tomorrow; come up with a plan when we’re feeling a little fresher.”

“Okay!” Luffy replied brightly, sitting up and flashing the men at the table a bright smile. “We can have a sleepover!”

Sanji’s head snapped up at that. “Wait, Luffy, what?”

“Yeah, Sanji’s bed is so comfy, and it’s gigantic, so we can all fit! And then Sanji can make breakfast in the morning and then we can figure out what to do with this Torao crisis!”

“Captain …”

“What? It’s a perfect plan, I decided. Sleepover! Yahoo!” And far faster than such a supposedly depressed and drunken man should be able to move, Luffy was on his feet and racing toward Sanji’s bedroom.

Zoro scratched awkwardly at his nose and glanced sideways at the cook. “So.”

“Yeah. Uh, I guess … you wanna …?”

“I can just sleep on the couch,” the moss head offered.

“No!” Luffy yelled from the bedroom. “Zoro, this bed is _huge_! You don’t have to sleep on the couch.”

“I mean, I don’t … I don’t mind … We were, uh, probably gonna get there eventually … before …” Sanji muttered, flipping the lock on the front door and pointedly not looking at the swordsman.

“Oh, yeah, I guess. I mean … if it’s okay with you, we can …”

“Come _on_ you guys!”

“The, uh, the bathroom is through there. There’s extra toothbrushes and stuff under the sink, if you want. And, uh, if you wanna shower or anything there’s towels in the closet and you can just use my soap or whatever. I have a pair of pajama pants that might fit you. Luffy’s probably just gonna sleep in his boxers …” Sanji trailed off, his attention completely derailed as he saw Zoro smirk at him and strip his shirt off over his head, moving toward the door Sanji had pointed to.

“Thanks cook. Shower sounds great.”

Using perhaps more force than necessary to turn off the kitchen lights, Sanji stormed into the bedroom and tried desperately to shake the multitude of thoughts, each dirtier than the next, from his head as he heard the bathroom door close and the shower turn on. He could _not_ go in there after the shitty swordsman. It didn’t matter how much the thought of the water cascading down his perfect body made Sanji’s mouth water. It simply couldn’t happen. Not tonight. Not with Luffy smiling at him and patting the bed next to him like he owned it and not Sanji.

“Don’t use all the hot water, Marimo!” the cook shouted as he threw himself on the bed next to Luffy, his sexual frustration translating to irritation with the seaweed brain, as it so often had before. This was going to be an interesting night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you want me?” he asked, his voice not angry or upset, but matter-of-fact.
> 
> “I … wha- of course I do!” Sanji sputtered. “I think that much is pretty obvious!”
> 
> “Okay, good. I want you too. Bad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me so long to write! I'm sorry to anyone who was waiting, but now I'm done with finals and hopefully I'm over my writer's block with this piece. I have a rough outline for the rest of the story and it's looking like there will be two more chapters. 
> 
> It's still un-beta'd, but big shout out to my friends who have been providing me with sexpiration and putting up with me whining and begging them for feedback.

_The contrast of his pale hands against Zoro’s tanned chest was a sight Sanji could definitely get used to. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of it as he pushed himself up until only the tip of Zoro’s thick cock remained inside him before sinking back down slowly, moaning softly at the perfect slide against his prostate._

_“C’mon, Cook,” Zoro growled, his hands squeezing Sanji’s muscled thighs impatiently. “Faster.”_

_Sanji smirked down at the panting swordsman and rolled his hips lazily. “What’s the magic word?”_

_As soon as the teasing words left his mouth the world spun and then Sanji’s breath escaped in a whoosh as his back hit the mattress and Zoro thrust into him roughly._

_“Fucking **now** ,” the man replied, a feral grin lighting up his face as he watched the blonde gasp in surprise and writhe in pleasure beneath him. _

_A hot, wet tongue trailed up his flushed chest and Sanji trembled, complying readily when Zoro reached down to prop the blonde’s legs on his shoulders. Sanji shivered in anticipation as that hot mouth pressed against the tight flesh of his calf just below the knee._

_“Have I ever mentioned that I love how fucking flexible you are?” Zoro murmured, sucking patches of pink onto the creamy white of the leg in his grasp._

_“You may have told me … once or twice," Sanji stuttered, feeling the graze of teeth like a line of fire on his over-sensitized skin. He could tell by the mischievous glint in the moss-head’s eye that he had noticed how Sanji tensed at the sensation._

_“Were you expecting something, Cook? Or was it that you wanted something?” the man asked innocently, nipping ever so lightly at the limb he was currently worshiping._

_“Y-you know …”_

_“Hmmmm,” Zoro hummed, pressing his surprisingly soft lips against the tender skin again. “Do I?” Sanji nodded his head violently. “Well then, Cook …” Zoro lowered his voice to an almost impossibly low rumble as he let his teeth glide far too gently against Sanji’s leg once more. “What’s the magic word?”_

“Cook? Oh for fuck’s sake, Cook! Wake up! What the fuck are you dreaming about?”

Well, okay. From the prominent and leaking erection currently grinding into his thigh and the breathy sighs and moans falling freely from the blonde’s erotically parted lips, Zoro could actually make a pretty educated guess what he was dreaming about, and he knew several wonderful ways he could wake the cook up and help him finish whatever he’d started in the dream world. But those ways all required a certain amount of privacy, and that wasn’t a luxury the two men currently had. Not with the captain of their small crew snoring not two feet away from them.

“Please, Zoro. Oh God, please,” Sanji breathed in his sleep.

“Oh that is _it_!” Zoro snarled, leaping away from the persistent, mindless sleep-thrusting of his would-be-lover. “Sanji! Wake up!”

Some combination of the sudden lack of warmth and the use of his name snapped Sanji out of his dream and caused him to blink blearily up at the very flushed swordsman. “Marimo, wha-?”

“Get up, curly,” Zoro interrupted in a hiss. When Sanji didn’t move, the man huffed a frustrated sigh and hefted the blonde out of the bed and over his shoulder.

“What the fuck, you shitty bastard?! Put me down!” Being pressed against the marimo’s shoulder made it painfully obvious to Sanji that he was fully hard, and there was no way that the man currently carrying him out of the bedroom didn’t feel it.

“Shut up, cook, you’re gonna wake Luffy.”

“Yeah, well …” Sanji cut himself off with a gasp as Zoro shifted him, causing his erection to rub against the warm, sculpted chest beneath him. “Fuck.”

“Mmhmm, that’s the idea, if you’d shut up,” Zoro snarked, stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door before letting Sanji slide down his body.

“Oh,” Sanji replied quietly, looking up into lust-filled eyes.

“Yeah.”

Sanji found himself pushed against the door, Zoro’s large hands on his hips, and a puff of warm breath on his neck the only warning he got before the swordsman began trailing hot kisses along his jaw. One calloused hand toyed with the hem of his pajama pants while the other slid up his toned abs, rucking his t-shirt up as it went.

“Z-Zoro, Luffy’s …”

“Asleep,” Zoro finished for him. “You know he sleeps like the dead, cook.”

“But …”

Zoro sighed at Sanji’s continued protest, but pulled away and removed his hands from the cook’s body.

“Do you want me?” he asked, his voice not angry or upset, but matter-of-fact.

“I … wha- of course I do!” Sanji sputtered. “I think that much is pretty obvious!”

“Okay, good. I want you too. Bad. But you’re not comfortable right now.” It wasn’t really a question, more an observation, and Sanji flushed.

“Well, it’s just that Luffy …” Sanji trailed off, embarrassed.

 “Sanji, look at me.”

Usually receiving an order from anyone, much less the moss-head, would raise Sanji’s hackles, but something about Zoro’s tone made him comply without thinking, and he was surprised to find understanding in the other man’s eyes.

“It’s okay.” Zoro stepped in close and pressed a chaste kiss to Sanji’s forehead. “I got carried away, I’m sorry. We’ll wait until the time is right for both of us, okay?”

“Uh, I … okay?”

Zoro laughed softly and kissed him again, this time on the lips. The kiss was short and sweet, and betrayed not even a hint of disappointment or anger. Sanji had always known that Zoro could be like this, but his gentle and understanding side had never been directed at the chef before. It almost made Sanji want to tell him to forget it and just fuck him right there on the tiled floor, but before he could act on that impulse a particularly loud snore sounded from his bedroom and reminded him just how poorly soundproofed his apartment was.

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“Nothing to thank me for. Take a shower, cook. I’ll make some coffee.”

Sanji was still nodding when the door shut behind the swordsman. Shaking his head to clear it of the lusty fog Zoro left, he turned on the shower and began shedding his clothes, careful of his now aching erection. Unbidden, thoughts of how Zoro could have helped him with that not-so-little problem floated through his mind, and before he knew it his hand was working slowly over his cock. He stepped into the shower and let the water massage his back as he closed his eyes and began to move faster, swiping his thumb over the tip and smearing precum along his length, remembering how it felt to have Zoro’s lips wrapped around him. He remembered the heat, the sinful skill of the marimo’s tongue teasing him before he hollowed his cheeks and sucked, pulling Sanji higher and higher in pleasure until he finally couldn’t contain himself and released into that far-too-talented mouth. Remembering how Zoro had licked his lips, how pleased with himself he had looked, had Sanji coming hard over his hand and he shook with the release, allowing a small, low moan to escape his lips. He drifted in post-orgasmic bliss for a moment, enjoying the contrast of the hot water on his back and the still cold tile wall against his cheek.

_BEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEP!_

“What the fuck?!” Sanji shouted, nearly slipping in his haste to turn off the water and scramble out of the tub. He barely remembered to wrap a towel around his still dripping body before bursting out of the bathroom when he picked up the distinct, harsh smell of something burning. “Zoro, what the fuck?”

The swordsman looked at him sheepishly, standing on a chair in the middle of the smoke-filled kitchen and waving a dishtowel at the smoke-detector.

“Uh, well, I thought it would be nice to make breakfast. Cuz you have to cook all the time and all …” he explained, abandoning his chair and going to open a window instead. “It, uh, didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.”

“What the hell did you try to make?”

Zoro flushed bright red and looked away, muttering something under his breath.

“Sorry, seaweed brain, I didn’t quite catch that. _What_ were you making?”

“Toast, okay? I was trying to make toast in your stupid mini oven thingy here because you don’t have a damn toaster like a _normal_ person and I turned my back on it for one second and next thing I know there’s a ton of smoke and … Stop laughing at me!”

Maybe it was the weirdness of the past night and this morning catching up with him. Maybe it was the night filled with dreams that were anything but restful. Maybe he was still a little loopy from his recent climax. Whatever the reason, Sanji could not stop laughing even if he wanted to. The big, strong, stoic swordsman being laid low by his toaster oven was simply too hilarious, and he found himself needing to lean against the wall for support as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.

“You-“ he gasped, “you burnt – haha – you burnt toast?”

“Shut up, swirly, it’s not funny! It’s your stupid little oven thingy!”

Sanji walked over and turned the vent on both the oven and microwave to high to filter out some of the remaining smoke and peered into the toaster oven to asses the damage. Two blackened pieces of toast sat pathetically on the wire rack and still issued a slight stream of smoke. He clicked his tongue and flipped the little glass door shut with a gentle flick of his wrist before unplugging the device.

“Marimo, when something catches fire in a toaster oven you don’t open the door, you turn it off and let the flames suffocate, okay? And see this knob? See the toast setting right there? All you do is turn the knob to the little picture of toast. I wouldn’t have guessed that would be too difficult for your tiny moss brain to figure out.”

“Yeah, whatever, shit cook. Maybe if you had a toaster and not a damn fancy space contraption this wouldn’t have happened.”

Sanji chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think you get to call anyone else a shit cook after this, Marimo. You burnt _toast_.”

Zoro’s indignant retort was cut off by Luffy bounding into the kitchen, wielding a fire extinguisher and shouting for everyone to immediately **_stop drop and roll_**. In the end they had to wrestle the thing away from the still half-asleep and panicked young man before he calmed down enough to let them explain that the fire was out, resulting in the three of them laying panting on the kitchen floor. How Sanji’s towel had stayed in place through the ordeal was both a miracle and a mystery, and Sanji didn’t feel like tempting fate by staying in it any longer, so as soon as he caught his breath he stood, gave Zoro and Luffy strict orders not to touch anything that required adult supervision, and went to his room to change.

When he emerged, freshly dressed in a pair of fitted black jeans and a sky blue button down with the sleeves rolled to three-quarter length, he found Zoro and Luffy still on the ground, crowded close together, staring at Zoro’s cell phone.

“Is this Luffy’s friend?” an unfamiliar voice asked, crackling with static from being on speakerphone. Neither man answered, but the voice continued. “I’m sorry if this isn’t Luffy’s friend, we were all drunk last night so it might not be. If it’s not you can just ignore this message – “

“Penguin, get to the point!” another voice ordered impatiently.

“Right! This is Penguin. I’m Law’s friend from the club and Luffy gave me this number to get in touch with him – “

“ _Obviously,_ Pen. Jeeze, gimme the phone. Hey! Luffy’s friend! Get a pencil and write this down. It’s Law’s number. Give it to Luffy and tell him Law’s been a mopey, miserable fuck since last night and he owes us an explanation because things were going great and we thought we were finally gonna get Law _out_ of his funk, not push him deeper into it!”

“Shachi, chill, man,” the first man ordered. “Give it back. Look, Luffy’s friend. We’re gonna be at the Polar Tang today at one o’clock. It’s a frozen yogurt place downtown and we practically live there. Tell Luffy he should just “happen” to be there too, cuz seriously Law liked him and now he’s being unbearable because of whatever happened.”

“Give him Law’s number, dumbass!” the second voice, Shachi apparently, interjected.

“Oh! Right! Law’s number is – Beeeeeeep!”

Luffy cocked his head to the side in confusion. “What the heck? He didn’t give me the number!”

“The message was too long, Captain. The machine must have cut it off. But hey, you can go see him at the, what was it?”

“The Polar Tang,” Sanji supplied from his place in the doorway.

Zoro nodded gratefully. “Yeah, the Polar Tang. That’s not that far from here, right Sanji?”

“If you call the opposite side of the city not far, yeah. It’s about a half hour drive if you don’t hit traffic.”

Luffy looked at the clock and gasped. “It’s already past noon, I’ll never make it! Nooooo, Saaaaaaanjiiiiiiii!”

“Relax, Luffy, I’ll drive you. Get dressed.”

Luffy leapt up and ran to the bedroom with an excited whoop, leaving Sanji and Zoro alone once more.

“So, uh …” Sanji began.

“You wanna go out with me?” Zoro interrupted.

Sanji knew he a was blushing, but he just gave the swordsman a lopsided grin and nodded. Zoro wanted him, and he wanted Zoro, and there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

“Good. I know you work most evenings at the restaurant. How about a lunch date?”

“Sure. Tomorrow?”

If Zoro was surprised that the cook wanted to go out so soon he didn’t let it show. “Sounds good. Pick me up at the clinic at noon?”

“Perfect. Are you, uh, ready to leave? I don’t wanna kick you out, but if I’m driving Luffy …”

Zoro nodded and patted his pockets quickly to check for his wallet and keys. “I’m set. Thanks for letting me sleep over even though …”

“Yeah.”

The clatter of someone tripping on their own feet and then bouncing right back up signaled Luffy’s return to the kitchen. “Okay! Sanji! Let’s go woo Torao!”

Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and nodded. “Yeah, okay, Luffy. Except who the fuck even says “woo” anymore? And you know I’m just dropping you off, right?”

The bouncy man looked affronted. “No! You have to meet him! You’re coming inside with me! Besides, it would look weird if I was there all by myself. Pleeeeeeeease Sanji?”

He threw out some generic, unconvincing arguments as he locked the door behind them and led Luffy to his car. He already knew that he was going to cave and do whatever the captain wanted, just like he always did. Once Luffy decided on something there was really no use fighting it. He nodded in appreciation to the sympathetic look Zoro gave him as he tossed the man a final wave and climbed into his car.

“Torao, Torao, Toraoooooooooo,” Luffy sang happily, buckling his seatbelt, and beaming at Sanji as the blonde started the car.

Sanji shook his head one last time and watched as Zoro pulled out of the parking structure before shifting into drive himself. Luffy continued to sing his Torao song, but Sanji didn’t mind. He was too busy daydreaming about his upcoming date.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy surprises Sanji again, but this time in a very different way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is a shorter chapter and I apologize for that. I'm also writing stuff for Eustass Kid week and that's taking up quite a bit of time. But here it is! Comments and suggestions are always welcome =)

Sanji had barely rolled to a stop in the slightly cramped parking lot before Luffy leapt out of the car and rushed at the small, unassuming frozen yogurt shop. The chef shook his head with a sigh and put the vehicle in park before joining his exuberant friend. This would certainly be interesting.

“Do you see him, Sanji?!” Luffy demanded in a stage whisper, looking around frantically.

“Luffy, I don’t know what he looks like,” Sanji reminded.

“Oh. Well, he’ll be the most handsome, perfect, beautiful, amazing person here.”

Sanji raised his eyebrows. For meeting the man not twelve hours ago, Luffy seemed awfully convinced of this Torao guy’s awesomeness. “Yeah, okay. Why don’t we order something and then look around? So we don’t look so … conspicuous?”

Luffy nodded enthusiastically, bounded to the counter, and proceeded to order half the desserts on the menu at top speed, overwhelming the poor worker.

“Uh, wait, you want green tea, pomegranate, vanilla, chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, gummy bears, coconut, peanut butter cups and …?” she asked desperately, trying to keep up with Luffy as she punched the order in.

“Luffy, as a chef I absolutely cannot let you mix all those flavors,” Sanji protested, stepping up beside his friend and giving the frazzled woman behind the counter a comforting smile. He placed an order for himself and for Luffy, knowing what combination of flavors would make the boy happiest, and the cashier visibly relaxed as she set about preparing their food.

They took their treats to a small, round table in the corner where they could observe the entire store. Luffy took a big bite of his frozen yogurt and smiled widely at Sanji.

“This is great! You’re the best cook in the world!”

Sanji chuckled around his spoonful of simple vanilla. “I didn’t make it, Luffy, I just ordered it.”

“Yeah, but you ordered it _perfectly_.”

He couldn’t quite see what that had to do with his skills in the kitchen, but Sanji decided to just accept the compliment with a slight nod.

“So,” the boy said, suddenly serious. “What’s up with you and Zoro?”

Coughing to clear some accidentally inhaled frozen yogurt from his windpipe, Sanji gaped at Luffy. Of course he would just jump right into that conversation with no segue.

“What do you mean?” he asked evasively.

“I’m not dumb, Sanji. I know I interrupted you guys last night. Sorry about that by the way, but you know, it was a crisis and everything so I _had_ to.”

Well, at least Luffy was apologizing. Last night was definitely not the first time Sanji had been inopportunely interrupted by the young man, though that was back when he was with Ace. He kind of hadn’t been expecting the same problem when he set his sights on Zoro, since it was highly unlikely they’d be doing anything in the same apartment as the captain.

“Eh, probably better you did, anyway,” Sanji replied with a shrug.

Luffy cocked his head to the side and gave the blonde a quizzical look. “Huh? Why?”

Sanji sighed. “I don’t know. Just … it was kinda … rushed? Probably better that we stopped when we did.” He fiddled with his napkin nervously, avoiding Luffy’s gaze. “I mean … We’d both been drinking and everything … I don’t know. It’s complicated.”

“No it’s not.”

The almost hard edge to Luffy’s voice made Sanji jerk his head up to meet the boy’s stare. “Look, Luffy …”

“It’s not complicated, Sanji,” Luffy insisted, cutting Sanji off. “You and Zoro have liked each other for a long time. You were so sparkly when you were with Ace, you know? And then you guys broke up and even though you’re still friends you got sorta … dimmer? Like you lost your light. And then you started looking at Zoro how you used to look at Ace when you thought people wouldn’t see, and when you fight with him you get shiny again for a little bit. And Zoro was _never_ shiny before he met you. He was always all serious and focused on his work and his training and stuff and it was like he didn’t even know he was missing something, but I could see it. I could _tell_. And now he gets all bright just hearing your _name_ , even if you aren’t there. You guys make each other shine. So it’s not complicated at all.”

Luffy looked a little winded from making such a long speech, but his eyes were determined and didn’t leave Sanji’s. The chef, however, was completely dumbfounded. Because of the boy’s cheerful, carefree attitude, Sanji was always forgetting how observant and intuitive he was. And though Sanji wasn’t entirely sure what it meant to be “shiny,” he knew that if Luffy saw it, and felt strongly enough about it to have a serious talk about it, then it was real.

“He gets … shiny? Around me?” Sanji asked finally.

“Yeah, Sanji. Like … _really_ shiny. But you know that, deep down. Right?”

The blonde shifted in his chair and scratched a hand through his hair. “I … I guess. He wasn’t supposed to, though. It was supposed to be just, you know, like a hook-up. Just to kind of relieve the tension between us. I mean, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Me and the mosshead _dating_?”

“Why?” Luffy questioned exasperatedly. “You hate just hooking up. Zoro hates it too. He says it’s too much work for too little payout or something like that I dunno, I don’t always listen when he talks about that stuff.”

“But we fight almost nonstop!”

“And then you make up, so what’s the problem? You guys balance each other out. I dunno know why you’re fighting it so hard. I can tell you don’t really want to, so just stop and help me look for Torao.” And, taking a rather aggressive bite of his yogurt, Luffy ended the conversation just as abruptly as he’d started it.

The bell above the door chimed, signaling the arrival of some new customers, and Sanji turned to inspect the people entering. “ _He’ll be the most handsome, perfect, beautiful, amazing person here,”_ Luffy had said. But when Sanji thought of those qualities, there was only one, very familiar, face that came to mind.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the problem was that he was still struggling to wrap his head around the concept of actually dating the Marimo. After all, just two days ago this was all a pleasant, extremely unrealistic fantasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID IT! It's super short and absurdly sappy, but after a ten month hiatus I have FINISHED THIS STORY! So woohoo! Even though I've written several other fics in between starting this and finishing it, this is technically my first fanfic, and now over a year later it's complete! Thanks to anyone who has remained interested in this angsty/fluffy nonsense and to everyone who encouraged me from the beginning. Your support on this fic gave me the courage to continue writing and posting! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Straightening his tie one last time in the hallway mirror, Sanji came to an important realization: he was completely ready to go on a date … but there was no way that he was, or ever would be, prepared to go on _this_ date. His outfit was perfect, his hair was perfect, and yet he was almost positive that any moment he would throw up from nerves. He hadn’t felt this nervous since ... well, ever actually, and it pissed him off. It was _just_ _Zoro_ , for fuck’s sake! He’d hung out with that plant-head more times than he could count! But call it a date and suddenly he was some blushing school-boy confessing to his crush for the first time? Bullshit!

Part of the problem was that he was still struggling to wrap his head around the concept of actually  _ dating _ the Marimo. After all, just two days ago this was all a pleasant, extremely unrealistic fantasy. But here he was, trying to stop obsessively fidgeting with a tie that could not possibly be tied more flawlessly, as he counted down the minutes until it was time to go.

“You guys make each other shine,” Luffy had said. Sanji still didn’t really know exactly what that meant, but the thought of it made his heart flutter in a way that definitely spelled trouble. He’d always been a hopeless romantic. That was exactly why he’d spent so much time telling himself that he didn’t want any  _ romance  _ with Zoro; he just wanted to take the sexual tension between them and shatter it to pieces with hot, animalistic sex against whatever surface was closest. They could both get the release they so desperately needed, and no one got hurt and things didn’t get complicated. But now he was going on a  _ date _ , and that wasn’t part of the  _ plan _ .

This was an absolutely terrible idea. Fucking Zoro was one thing, but  _ dating  _ Zoro? Dating Zoro was a thing he wasn’t getting out of unscathed. The two of them were oil and water, or, more accurately, they were dynamite and a lit match. One wrong move from either of them and they would surely go up in flames. What the hell were they thinking? This would never work. Sure, the sex would be amazing, there was no doubt about that, but outside of the bedroom what would they have? Sanji was barely convinced that Zoro even  _ liked _ him half the time, so how could he possibly expect to have a healthy romantic relationship with the man?

The chef fought the urge to run his fingers through his immaculately styled hair and met his own panicked gaze in the mirror. He needed to get a grip. It was just one date for heaven’s sake. It’s not like their entire future together, romantic or otherwise, hung in the balance.

So why did it feel like their entire future together, romantic or otherwise, hung in the balance?

Maybe he should cancel? What’s the worst that happened if he did? Zoro spent some time being irritated with him (not exactly something new for them) and then they went back to being friends, right? Yeah, canceling was the right thing to do. For both their sakes. What was a little sexual tension and temporary awkwardness between them compared to heartbreak? This was better, really. Sanji would just cancel the date before things got out of hand and someone got hurt.

Before  _ he _ got hurt.

He steeled his resolve and pulled out his phone, ready to text the swordsman that this was a mistake, and noticed two missed messages. The first was expected; a teasing text from Nami.

Nami: Have fun on your date! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! :P

The second was  _ not _ expected, and Sanji felt his stomach do a giddy little flip at the simple message.

Marimo: Looking forward to seeing you soon Curly.

Well shit, he couldn’t very well cancel now, could he? Oh, who was he trying to kid? He didn’t  _ want _ to cancel the date. He never actually had, and even if he did it wouldn’t matter. Because canceling would only save him from getting hurt if he wasn’t already head over heads for the stupid swordsman, and that just wasn’t the case. He’d spent so long denying his feelings for the algae-head that he hadn’t noticed how deep those feelings had grown, but now it was time to face facts.

Maybe he would get hurt. Maybe he and Zoro really weren’t meant to be and wouldn’t be able to make it work. Maybe they’d end up hating each other one day. But the chance to be with Zoro wasn’t something Sanji could just give up. He would never forgive himself if he did. Because he could already picture it. Picture  _ them, _ and everything they could be.

Holding Zoro’s hand so he wouldn’t get lost in the crowd at a festival.

Being so furious he was screaming himself hoarse and Zoro shutting him up with an angry, passionate kiss.

Dancing and laughing with Zoro at a party.

Casually leaning against Zoro at the bar when he was exhausted but they got roped into going out anyway.

Zoro smirking at him from across the room when he caught Sanji staring at his ass, even after all the time they’d been together.

Zoro patiently trying dish after dish when Sanji was figuring out a new recipe.

Kissing Zoro at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Curling up tight against Zoro late at night and falling asleep to the steady beat of his heart and the overwhelming warmth of knowing that, in that moment, everything was  _ right _ .

How could he possibly throw away a chance to have all of that? With a quick nod to himself in the mirror, Sanji picked up his keys and headed out the door. Afraid or not, he wanted to do this,  _ needed _ to do this. And even if he ended up broken-hearted, he knew that the time they shared would absolutely be worth it.


End file.
